Fake windows update serves a fake Windows Media Player with a side of cryptominer

Fake windows update serves a fake Windows Media Player with a side of cryptominer

Fake windows update serves a fake Windows Media Player with a side of cryptominer

This week, the SonicWall Capture Labs Threat Research Team came across another cryptominer that pretends to be a media player and even loads a wav file to hide its real intent.

Infection Cycle:

This Trojan comes in an archive file that purports to be a Windows Update component. Within the archive file are the following files:

  • mstcss.exe
  • config.json
  • song.wav

The executable file mstcss.exe uses the following file properties pretending to be Windows Media Player.

Windows Update

Upon execution it loads the wav file which plays an instrumental music.

Then it reads the config.json file which has the settings for mining cryptocurrency.

Windows Update Server

Windows media player

It creates a log file in the following directory:

  • Program FilesWindows Updatelog.dat

The Trojan then proceeds to connect to the mining server.

Windows Update

Windows Update Server

Activities are then logged in to the log.dat file and may look like this:

Windows media player

SonicWall Capture Labs provides protection against this threat via the following signatures:

  • GAV: XMRig.MP (Trojan)
  • GAV: Miner.XM (Trojan)

This threat is also detected by SonicWALL Capture ATP w/RTDMI and the Capture Client endpoint solutions.

** Optrics Inc. is an Registered SonicWall partner


The original article can be found here:

https://securitynews.sonicwall.com/xmlpost/fake-windows-update-serves-a-fake-windows-media-player-with-a-side-of-cryptominer/

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